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No major changes at fair this year

Some livestock exhibitors will need to use new route for unloading animals

By Jenni Grubbs

Fort Morgan Times

Posted:
07/23/2018 08:38:27 AM MDT

Updated:
07/23/2018 08:38:55 AM MDT

The Catch-It contests, shown here in 2014, are always fun to watch at the Morgan County Fair. This year, they will happen at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, at the Morgan County Fairgrounds. (Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times)

4-H members will model the outfits they designed or decorated for entering in the Morgan County Fair at the public 4-H Fashion Revue at 6 p.m. Monday, July 31, at First Christian Church. (Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times)

This year's Morgan County Fair should feel pretty familiar for those who have been to the fair in previous years, according to Morgan County Commissioner and Fair Board Chairman Mark Arndt.

There are not very many things changing this year for the fair as far as programming, contests, food and where events will happen, he said, but that is partly by design. The overall fair should be one where people can feel comfortable and know where to go to enjoy their favorite events and contests and then seeing the results on display.

There are a few changes in the dates of some fair events. One of those is that the public concert featuring Sean Curtis and the Divide was moved from Tuesday night to Wednesday night after the Catch-It contests wrap up. That means that the Wild West Carnival will be going on at the same time on Aug. 8 in the 4-H Building next to the grandstands, offering something for young children to do during the concert.

Otherwise, the public events, activities and contests should flow like they usually do during the fair.

But there will be a bit of a traffic change at the fairgrounds for some of the people bringing animals for the shows, Arndt said, and it could improve public safety at the fair.

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"I think one of the main changes this year is the county purchased the Mitchell property to the southeast of the fairgrounds," he said. "That makes the fairgrounds a square parcel now, and our biggest goal is to unload livestock on that southeast side to keep livestock and trailers out of the center."

That should make things a bit less crowded with vehicles, trailers and moving livestock in that central area, Arndt said. It also should offer a bit more safety for those roaming around during the fair.

"It's always been a fear of mine that some small child would get hurt by the traffic," he said. "The goal this year is unloading livestock at new, safer points."

That means that many of the livestock exhibitors will need to plan on a different route into and through the fairgrounds for unloading their animals. This mainly affects those who will be bringing in sheep, goats, beef and dairy cattle, Arndt said.

However, the same route as in the past likely will be used for unloading pigs, horses, chickens and rabbits, he said.

Arndt was excited about the county's acquisition of the land from Don Mitchell's estate to square off the fairgrounds.

"That's been the Mitchell property for a long time before it became part of the fairgrounds," Arndt said. "Don Mitchell was a big supporter of the fair, and he always talked about at some point that land needing to go into the fairgrounds."

There are some pre-fair activities and contests going on over the next couple weeks, and then the main Morgan County Fair begins Aug. 3.

Arndt said he was looking forward to people coming to the fairgrounds and getting involved in this year's fair.

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